Lecture 41
Listening and Interviewing
In this lecture we will learn to
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Apply the communication process to oral communication
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Summarize the skills involved in being an effective listener
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Identify nine common types of business interviews
Facing a communication dilemma at Rockport
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Calling a meeting isn’t unusual; executives do it every day.
Even so, few executives shut down an entire company to bring everyone to a
meeting, but that’s exactly what Rockport president John Thorbeck decided to do.
Rockport is a footwear subsidiary of Reebok, and except for the handful of people
left behind to answer telephones in the company’s headquarters, all 350
managers and employees were asked to gather in a huge room for a two-day
meeting.
Many of Thorbeck’s top managers questioned the need for halting
the daily functions, complaining that a company as large as Rockport
could not afford to lose two whole shipping days.
But Thorbeck believed this meeting was important enough to involve
every employee at every level.
His objective was nothing less than to increase the company’s
potential.
If you were John Thorbeck, how would you use a two-day meeting to elicit input
from your employees?
What factors of oral communication would you use to get them talking?
Would good listening skills be valuable?
What would you do to be sure the meeting was productive?
Communicating Orally
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Rockport’s John Thorbeck knows that speaking and listening are the
communication skills we use the most.
Given a choice, people would rather talk to each other than write to each
other.
Talking takes less time and needs no composing, typing, rewriting, retyping,
duplicating, or distributing.
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More important, oral communicating provides the opportunity for feedback.
When people communicate orally, they can ask questions and test their
understanding of the message; they can share ideas and work together to solve
problems.
They can also convey and absorb nonverbal information, which reveals far more
than words alone.
By communicating with facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, gestures
and posture, people can send subtle messages that add another dimension to
the spoken words.
Oral communication satisfies people’s need to be part of the human community
and makes them feel good.
Talking things over helps people in organizations build morale and establish a
group identity.
Nonetheless, oral communication also has its dangers.
Under most circumstances, oral communication occurs spontaneously, you
can’t cross out what you just aid and start over.
Your most foolish comments will be etched in the other person’s memory,
regardless of how much to try to explain that you really meant something else
entirely.
Moreover, if you let your attention wander while someone else is speaking, you
miss the point.
You either have to muddle along without knowing what the other person said or
admit you were daydreaming and ask the person to repeat the comment.
One other problem is that oral communication is too personal.
People tend to confuse your message with you as an individual.
They’re likely to judge the content of what you say by your appearance and
delivery style.
Intercultural barriers can be as much a problem in oral communication as they
can be in written communication.
As always, it’s best to know your audience, including any cultural differences
they may have.
Your message should always be communicated in the tone, manner, and
situation your audience will feel most comfortable with.
Whether you’re using the telephone, engaging in a quick conversation with a
colleague, participating in a formal interview, or attending a meeting, oral
communication is the vehicle you use to get your message across.
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When communicating orally, try to take advantage of the positive
characteristics while minimizing the dangers.
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To achieve that goal, work on improving two key skills:
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Speaking
Listening.
Speaking
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Because speaking is such an ingrained activity, we tend to do it without much
thought, but that casual approach can be a problem in business.
Be more aware of using speech as a tool for accomplishing your objectives
in a business context.
To do this, break the habit of talking spontaneously, without planning what
you’re going to say or how you’re going to say it.
Learn to manage the impression you create by consciously tailoring your
remarks and delivery style to suit the situation.
Become as aware of the consequences of what you say as you are of the
consequences of what you write.
With a little effort, you can learn to apply the composition process to oral
communication.
Before you speak, think about your purpose, your main idea, and your
audience.
Organize your thoughts in a logical way, decide on a style that suits the
occasion, and edit your remarks mentally.
As you speak, watch the other person, judging from verbal and nonverbal
feedback whether your message is making the desired impression.
If not, revise and try again.
Just as various writing assignments call for different writing styles, various
situations call for different speaking styles.
Your speaking style depends on the level of intimacy between you and the
other person and on the nature of your conversation.
When you’re talking with a friend, you naturally speak more frankly than when
you’re talking to your boss or a stranger.
When you’re talking about a serious subject you use a serious tone.
As you think about which speaking style is appropriate, think too about the
nonverbal message you want to convey.
People derive less meaning from your words than they do from your facial
expressions, vocal characteristics, and body language.
The nonverbal message should reinforce your words.
Perhaps the most important thing you can do to project yourself more
effectively is to remember the “you” attitude, earning other people’s attention
and goodwill by focusing on them.
For example, professionals like Rockport’s John Thorbeck elicit opinions
from others not only by asking them pointed questions but also by paying
attention to their responses.
An important tool of oral communication, the telephone, can extend your
reach across town and around the world.
However if your telephone skills are lacking, you may waste valuable time
and appear rude.
You can minimize your time on the telephone while raising your phone
productivity by delivering one-way information by fax.
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Other ways of increasing your phone productivity by
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jotting down an agenda before making a call
saving social chitchat for the end of a call
saving up all the short calls you need to make to one person during a
given day and simply making one longer call
sending your message by fax, if you cant reach someone by the phone
making sure you’re your assistant has a list of people whose calls you’ll
accept even if you’re in a meeting.
Listening
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If you’re typical, you spend over half your communication time listening.
Listening supports effective relationships within the organization, enhances the
organization’s delivery of products, alerts the organization to the innovations
growing from both internal and external forces, and allows the organization to
manage the growing diversity both in the workface and in the customers it
serves.
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An individual with good listening ability is more likely to succeed; good listening
enhances performance, leading to raises, promotions, status, and power.
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However, no one is born with the ability to listen; the skill is learned and employed
through practice.
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Most of us like to think of ourselves as being good listeners, but the average
person remembers only about half of what’s said during a 10 minute conversation
and forgets the other half within 48 hours.
What happens when you listen
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Sensing
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Interpreting
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Interpreting is decoding and absorbing what you hear.
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As you listen, you assign meaning to the words according to your own
values, beliefs, ideas, expectations, roles, needs and personal history.
The speaker’s frame of reference may be quite different, so the listener
may need to determine what the speaker really means.
Increase the accuracy of your interpretation by paying attention to
nonverbal cues.
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Sensing is physically hearing the message and taking note of it.
This reception can be blocked by interfering noises, impaired hearing, or
inattention.
Tune out distractions by focusing on the message.
Evaluating
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Evaluating is forming an opinion about the message.
Sorting through the speaker’s remarks, separating fact from opinion, and
evaluating the quality of the evidence require a good deal of effort,
particularly if the subject is complex or emotionally charged.
Avoid the temptations to dismiss ideas offered by people who are
unattractive or abrasive and to embrace ideas offered by people who are
charismatic speakers.
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Remembering
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Responding
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Remembering is storing a message for future reference.
As you listen, retain what you hear by taking notes or making a mental
outline of the speaker’s key points.
Responding is acknowledging the message by reacting to the speaker
in some fashion.
If you’re communicating one on one or in a small group, the initial
response generally takes the form of verbal feedback.
If you’re one of many in an audience, you ay act on what you have
heard.
Actively provide feedback to help the speaker refine the message.
Listening requires a mix of physical and mental activities and is
subject to a mix of physical and mental barriers.
The three types of listening
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Various situations call for different listening skills.
The three types of listening differ not only in purpose but also in the amount
of feedback or interaction that occurs.
The goal of content listening is to understand and retain information
imparted by a speaker.
You may ask questions, but basically information flows form the
speaker to you.
Your job is to identify the key points for the message, so be sure to
listen for clues to its structure:
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Previews
Transitions
Summaries
Enumerated points
In your mind create an outline of the speaker’s remarks; afterward, silently
review that you’ve learned.
You may take notes, but you do this sparingly so that you can concentrate
on the key points.
It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree, approve or disapprove –
only that you understand.
The goal of critical listening The three types of listening is to
evaluate the message at several levels:
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The logic of the argument
Strength of the evidence
Validity of the conclusions
The implications of the message for you or your organization
The speaker’s intentions and motives
The omission of any important or relevant points
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Because absorbing information and evaluating it at the same time is hard,
reserve judgment until the speaker has finished.
Critical listening generally involves interaction as you try to uncover the
speaker’s point of view.
You are bound to evaluate the speaker’s credibility as well.
The goal of active or emphatic listening is to understand the speaker’s
feelings, needs, and wants so that you can appreciate his or her point of view,
regardless of whether you share that perspective.
By listening in an active or emphatic way, you help the individual vent the
emotions that prevent a dispassionate approach to the subject.
Avoid the temptation to give advice.
Try not to judge the individual’s feelings.
Just let the other person talk.
All three types of listening can be useful in work-related situations, so it pays
to learn how to apply them.
How to be a better listener
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Regardless of whether the situation calls for content, critical, or
active listening, you can improve your listening ability by becoming
more aware of the habits that distinguish good listeners from bad.
In addition, put nonverbal skills to work as you listen:
– Maintain eye contact
– React responsively with head nods or spoken signals
– Pay attention to the speaker’s body language
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You might even test yourself from time to time: when someone is talking, ask
yourself whether you’re actually listening to the speaker or mentally rehearsing
how you’ll respond.
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Above all, try to be open to the information that will lead to higher-quality
decisions, and try to accept the feeling that will build understanding and mutual
respect.
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If you do, you’ll be well on the way to becoming a good listener – an important
quality when conducting business interviews.
Good and bad listening
To listen effectively
The Bad Listener
The Good Listener
1. Find areas of interest
Tunes out dry subjects
Opportunizes; ask “What’s in it
for me”
2. Judge content, not delivery
Tunes out if delivery is poor
Judges content; skips over
delivery error
3. Hold your fire
Tends to enter into argument
Doesn’t judge until
comprehension is complete;
interrupts only to clarify
4. Listen for ideas
Listens for facts
Listens for central themes
5. Be flexible
Takes extensive notes using
only one system
Takes fewer notes; uses four to
five different systems,
depending on the speaker.
To listen effectively
The Bad Listener
The Good Listener
6. Work at listening
Shows no energy output;
fakes attention
Works hard; exhibits
active body state
7. Resist distractions
Is distracted easily
Fights or avoids
distractions; tolerates bad
habits; knows how to
concentrate
8. Exercise your mind
Resists difficult expository
material; seeks light,
recreational material
Uses heavier material as
exercise for the mind
9. Keep your mind open
Reacts to emotional words
Interprets emotional
words; does not get hung
up on them
10. Capitalize on the fact
that thought is faster than
speech
Tends to daydream with
slow speakers
Challenges, anticipates,
mentally summarizes
Conducting interviews on the job
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Your speaking and listening skills will serve you throughout your career.
For example, from the day you apply for your first job until the day you retire,
you’ll be involved in a wide variety of business interviews.
These interviews are actually planned conversations with a predetermined
purpose that involve asking and answering questions.
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In a typical interview the action is controlled by the interviewer, the person who
schedule the session.
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This individual poses a series of questions, designed to elicit information from the
interviewee.
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Interviews sometimes involve several sometimes involve several interviewers or
several interviewees, but more often only two people participate.
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The conversation bounces back and forth from interviewer to
interviewee.
Although the interviewer guides the conversation, the interviewee
may also seek to accomplish a purpose, perhaps to :
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obtain or provide information,
solve a problem
to create goodwill
persuade the other person to take action.
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If the participants establish rapport and stick to the subject at hand, both
parties have a chance of achieving their objective.
To help you understand interviews on the job, we will discuss how interviews
are categorized, how you can plan for them, what sorts of questions you can
use, and how you can structure them.
Categorizing interviews
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The interviewer establishes the style and structure of the session, depending
on the purpose of the interview and relationship between the parties, much as
a writer varies the style and structure of a written message to suit the situation.
Each situation calls for a slightly different approach, as you can imagine when
you try to picture yourself conducting some of these common business
interviews.
Job interviews
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Information interviews
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The interviewer seeks facts that bear on a decision or contribute to
basic understanding.
Information flows mainly in one direction: one person asks a list of
questions that must be covered and listens to the answers supplied
by the other person.
Persuasive interviews
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The job candidate wants to learn about the position and the organization;
the employer wants to learn about the applicant’s abilities and experience.
Both hope to make a good impression and to establish rapport.
Initial job interviews are usually fairly formal and structured, but later
interviews may be relatively spontaneously as the interviewer explores the
candidates responses.
One person tells another about a new idea, product, or service and
explains why the other should act on the recommendation.
Persuasive interviews are often associated with, but are certainly not
limited to, selling.
The persuader asks about the other person’s needs and shows how the
product or concept is able to meet those needs.
Persuasive interviews require skill in drawing out and listening to others
as well as the ability to impart information.
Exit interview
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The interviewer tries to understand why the interviewee is leaving the
organization or transferring to another department or division.
A department employee can often provide insight into whether the
business is being handled efficiently or whether things could be improved.
The interviewer tends to ask all the questions while the interviewee
provides answers.
Encouraging the employee to focus on events and processes rather than
on personal grips will elicit more useful information for the organization.
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Evaluation interview
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A supervisor periodically gives an employee feedback on his or her
performance.
The supervisor and the employee discuss progress toward predetermined
standards or goals and evaluate areas that require improvement.
They may also discuss goals for the coming year, as well as the
employee’s long-term aspirations and general concerns.
Counseling interviews
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A supervisor talks with an employee about personal problems that are
interfering with work performance.
The interviewer is concerned with the welfare of both the employee and
the organization.
The goal is to establish the facts, convey the company’s concern, and
steer the person toward a source of help.
Only a trained professional should offer advice on such problems as
substance abuse, marital tension, and financial trouble.
Conflict-resolution interviews
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Two competing people or groups of people explore their problems and
attitudes.
For example Smith versus Jones, day shift versus night shift, General
Motors versus the United Auto Workers.
The goal is to bring the two parties closer together, cause adjustments in
perceptions and attitudes and create a more productive climate.
Disciplinary interviews
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A supervisor tries to correct the behavior of an employee who has
ignored the organization’s rules and regulations.
The interviewer tries to get the employee to see the reason for the rules
and to agree to comply.
The interviewer also reviews the facts and explores the person’s attitude.
Because of the emotional reaction that is likely, neutral observations are
more effective than critical comments.
Termination interviews
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A supervisor inform an employee of the reason for the termination
The interviewer tries to avoid involving the company in legal action and
tries to maintain as positive a relationship as possible with the
interviewee.
To accomplish these goals, the interviewer gives reasons that are
specific, accurate, and verifiable.
In this lecture we learnt to
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Apply the communication process to oral communication
Summarize the skills involved in being an effective listener
Identify nine common types of business interviews